Adjustable side guide and hold-down for a tandem cold reduction mill



Jan. 1, 1963 A. TEPLITZ ADJUSTABLE SIDE GUIDE AND HOLD-DOWN FOR A TANDEMCOLD REDUCTION MILL 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 30, 1960 INVENTORALFRED TEPL/TZ Afforney Jan. 1, v1963 A. TEPLITZ 3,071,032

ADJUSTABLE SIDE GUIDE AND HOLD-DOWN FOR A TANDEM COLD REDUCTION MILLFiled March 30, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR ALFRED TEPL/TZ UnitedStates Patent 3,071,032 ADJUSTABLE SIDE GUIDE HOLD-DOWN FOR A TANDEMCOLD REBUCTION MILL Alfred Tepiitz, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to UnitedStates Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey Filed Mar. 30,1960, Ser. No. 18,680 3 Claims. (Cl. 80-51) This invention relates to anadjustable width side guide and hold down for a moving strip and moreparticularly to such a guide for use at the entry side of a tandem coldreduction mill stand. The conventional entry guide has no means forquick and easy adjustment to accommodate different strip widths. Eachtime the width of the strip to be rolled changes the mill operators mustmanually rearrange both the top and bottom sets of hold down bars andedge guide bars so that the Width between bars is correct for thechanged strip width. This is a costly and time consuming procedure whichreduces the actual production time of the mill.

it is therefore an object of my invention to provide a side guide andhold down assembly which can be quickly and easily adjusted toaccommodate strips of dififerent widths.

These and other objects will be more apparent after referring to thefollowing specification and attached drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation, partly in section, showing the guide of myinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a View taken on the line llll of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a view taken on the line Ill-Ill of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of a portion ofFIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of the guideassembly with parts broken away;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged perspective view of a detail;

FIGURE 7 is a schematic drawing of the electrical circuit used to supplycurrent to the motors and solenoid valve;

FIGURE 8 is an across the line diagram of the electrical controls; and

FIGURE 8a is a View showing the relays of FIGURE 8 with their contacts.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the reference numeral 2indicates the housing of a roll stand having the usual work rolls 4 andback-up rolls 6. Opposed brackets 8 are mounted on the inner faces ofthe housing 2. Each bracket 8 includes a horizontal slide surface 10 anda groove 12. A guide supporting framework 14 is mounted on the brackets8 with an extension 16 at each end extending into the groove 12. Theframework 14 is slidable on the slides in away from the center line ofthe mill housing, so as to permit changing of the rolls. The framework14 may be moved manually or by any suitable mechanism, not shown. Theframework 14 includes a horizontal bottom plate 18, vertical side plates20 which are welded to or otherwise fastened to the plate 18, and anupper cross-tie 22 which is welded or otherwise fastened to the to ofplates 20. Brackets 24 which are fastened to and extend upwardly fromthe plate 18 support a machined plate 26 of bottom guide assembly 28.Board mounts 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40 and 42 are supported by the plate3,071,032 Patented Jan. 1, 1963 ice 26. The longitudinal cross sectionof each of the board mounts is the same so that only one need bedescribed in detail. A plate 44 is attached to the ends of the boardmounts so as to provide a groove 46 for receiving plate 26. A plate 48issimilarlysecured to the other end of the board mounts with a space 50being provided between plate 26 and the end of the board mounts. Aclamping device 52 extends through the aligned spaces provided at thefront end of the board-mounts and consists of an inflatable tube 52Thaving plates 52F bonded thereto. Air is supplied to the tube 52Tthrough a three-way solenoid operated valve 54 and a conduit 56. Boards58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63 and 64 are attached to their respectiveboard-mounts by means of a V-notch 65 at one end and a clamp plate 66 atthe other end. The center board-mount 36 and board 61 are stationary,being pinned to plate 26 so that they cannot move with respect thereto.The boards 59 to 63 are all of the same width while the boards 58 and 64are wider to provide increased engagement at the extreme ends of thestrip width where uniform pressure is desirable. A brass edge guideplate 67 is attached to each of the board-mounts 30' and 42 and extendsupwardly above the pass line. The board-mounts are joined by a lazytonglinkage 68. Linkage bars 7% and 72 of the lazytong linkage 68 areconnected at their centers for relative rotation by means of pins 74.One end of each bar 70, except the one to the left end of FIGURE 3, isfastened to the corresponding end of the associated bar 72 and to theassociated board-mounts by a pin 76 extending upwardly into theboard-mounts 32 to 40. One end of each of the end bars is fastened tothe board mounts 30 and 42 by means of pin 78 which extends downwardlythrough a slot 80 in plate 26. The other ends of paired bars 70 and 72are fastened together and to the board-mounts by means of pins 84extending into slots 86 in the board-mounts. The unpaired end of rightend bar 70' as shown in FIGURE 3 is fastened to end mount 30 by means ofa pin 88 extending into a slot 90 in the associated board-mount. In likemanner the unpaired end of left end bar 72 is fastened to end mount 42.As best shown in FIGURE 4 the pins 78 extend downwardly into verticalholes in nut blocks 92 located on the under side of plate 26. The nutblocks 92 are horizontally bored and threaded to accommodate oppositelythreaded drive screws 94 which are connected at their inner ends bycouplings 96 to a low speed shaft extension of gear motor 98. The screws94 are supported at their outer ends by means of bearing blocks 100. Anupper guide assembly 102 is constructed in the same manner as lowerguide assembly 28 except that it does not include side guide plates 67and is also mounted for vertical movement. To accomplish the verticalmovement air motors 104 are pivotally connected to the cross tie 22adjacent each of the side plates 20. Piston rod 1% of each motor 104 isconnected to a two-arm lever 108 which is pivotally mounted intermediateits ends on a shaft 110 extending between and fastened to the sideplates 20. The lower end of each lever 108 is pin connected to a clevis112 fastened to the plate 26 of the upper guide assembly 102. The otherend of plate 26' adjacent the rolling mill is supported by links 114,each of which has one end connected to an associated clevis 116 attachedto the plate 26 and the other end rotatably supported on a shaft 11'8extending between and attached to side plates 7-9. The parts of upperguide assembly 102 are identified where necessary by priming thereference numeral f the corresponding part of lower guide assembly 23.

Power for driving synchro-motors 98 and 98 is supplied by asynchro-generator 126 which is driven from a standard AC. motor 122through a gear reducer 123. The gear reducer permits the generator tooperate at a speed low enough to prevent the synchro-motors from gettingout of phase. Power for driving the motor 122 is supplied by lines L1,L2 and L3. A third synchro-motor 12 i is also powered from thesynchro-generator 12 h. The motor 124 drives a dial indicator 125 whichshows the exact distance between the edge guides 66. The control foroperating the valve 54- and motors 98, 98 and 124 are shown in FIGURES7, 8 and 8a. The control includes push button switches 126 and 128 whichare connected in series with relay coils 130 and 132, respectively.Relay coil 131? has a normally closed contact 13ilC in series with relaycoil 132, normaly open contact 13tlC1 and normaly closed contact 13002.Relay coil 132 has normally closed contact 132C connected in series withrelay coil 13%), normally open contact 132C1 and normally closed contact132C111. Contacts 136C1 and 132C1 are connected in parallel with eachother and in series with valve solenoid 54S. Contact 13ilC2 is connectedin series with time delay relay 134. Contact 132C2 is connected inseries with time delay relay 136. Time delay relay 134 has a normallyclosed contact 134C which is connected in series with a relay coil 138which has a normally closed contact 138C and normally open contacts138C1 for controlling current flow to motor 122. Time delay relay 136has a normally closed contact 136C mounted in series with contact 138Cand a relay coil 140 which has a normally closed contact 140C andnormally open contacts 149C for controlling current flow to motor 122.

In the operation of my device a strip S passes in the direction of thearrow between the upper and lower guide assemblies 28 and 162. The edgeguides 66 center the strip entering the rolls and the wooden blocksprovide the necessary drag on the strip. The clamp devices 52 and 52prevent movement of the boards and board mounts at this time. Whenthreading strip S to the rolls, air is delivered to the blind end ofmotors 104, thus moving the top guide assembly 102 upwardly. After thestrip S is fed into the mill the assembly 162 is lowered to clamp thetop assembly 102 down on the strip S. To adjust the guide for widerstrip the push button switch 126 is closed, thus energizing relay 139which opens contact 136C so as to prevent operation of relay coil 132.Contact l3iiC1 is closed, thus energizing solenoid 548 to cause valve 54to release pressure from tubes 521" and 52T'. At the same time contact13002 will be opened and after a predetermined time delay, relay 134will be deenergized, thus closing switch 134C. Closing of switch 134Cenergizes relay coil 138 closing its contacts 138C1 so as to cause motor122 to rotate in such a direction that synchromotors 98 and 98' willexpand their respective lazy-tongs 68 and 63 to move guide blocks apart.The lazy-tongs cause the distance between the boards to be equal as theymove apart. Motor 124 is also energized so that indicator dial 125 willindicate the distance between side guides 67. When this distance isequal to the width of the strip to be rolled the operator releases pushbutton switch 126. This returns the circuit to its original conditionand supplies air through valve 54 to the tubes 52T and 52T to clamp theboardmounts in position. When adjusting the guide for narrower strip,push button 128 is closed, thus energizing relay 132 and closing itscontact 132(31 to energize solenoid 548 so as to release pressures fromtubes 52T and 52T. Contact 132C2 will also open and, after apredetermined time delay, relay 136 will cause contact 136C to close,thus energizing relay 1 M) and closing contacts 146(31 to cause motor122 to operate in the opposite direction. This causes motors 98 and 98'to also operate in the opposite direction which, through lazy-tongs 68and 68, moves the guide blocks together. When the distance between edgeguides 67 is that desired the operator releases push button switch 128,thus returning the controls to their originm position and clamping theboard-mounts in place.

While one embodiment of my invention has been shown and described, itwill be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be madewithout departing from the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An edge guide and hold down for a moving strip at the entry end of arolling mill comprising a bottom guide assembly, a top guide assemblybetween which the strip passes, and an edge guide on each side of one ofsaid guide assemblies, each of said guide assemblies including a plate,a flange on said plate adjacent one end thereof extending toward thestrip pass line, a plurality of drag blocks mounted on said plate formovement transversely of the path of movement or" said strip, a flangeon each of said drag blocks extending away from said strip pass line inspaced relation with the flange on said plate, an inflatable tube in thespace between the flange on said plate and the flanges on said dragblocks, a rigid plate attached to each side of said tube and adapted tocontact the adjacent sides of said flanges when inflated to preventmovement of said drag blocks with respect to said plate, a lazy tongassembly connecting said drag blocks, and means connected to said lazytongs for moving the bars of said tongs with the drag blocks attachedthereto away and toward each other.

2. In a continuous strip processing line having means for moving thestrip longitudinally, an edge guide and hold down on the entry side ofsaid means for guiding the strip transversely and applying a drag to thestrip; said edge guide and hold down comprising a bottom guide assembly,a top guide assembly between which the strip passes, and an edge guideon each side of one of said guide assemblies, each of said guideassemblies including a generally horizontal plate, more than two dragblocks adjustably mounted on said plate for slidable movement withrespect to one another transversely of the path of movement of saidstrip, drive means operably connected to said drag blocks for moving thedrag blocks toward and away from one another to a plurality of positionsaccording to the Width of the strip being guided, a connection betweensaid edge guides and said last named means associated with that guideassembly which includes the edge guides to move the edge guides towardand away from one another to a plurality of positions according to thewidth of the strip being guided, and expandable means acting betweensaid plates and said drag blocks and edge guides for holding said dragblocks and edge guides in adjusted position on said plate.

3. In a continuous strip processing line having means for moving thestrip longitudinally, an edge guide and hold down on the entry side ofsaid means for guiding the strip transversely and applying a drag to thestrip; said edge guide and hold down comprising a bottom guide assembly,a top guide assembly between which the strip passes, and an edge guideon each side of one of said guide assemblies, each of said guideassemblies including a generally horizontal plate, a flange on saidplate adjacent one end thereof extending toward the strip pass line,more than two drag blocks adjustably mounted on said plate for slidablemovement with respect to one another transverse-- ly of the path ofmovement of said strip, a flange on each. of said drag blocks extendingaway from said strip pass line in spaced relation with the flange onsaid plate, an, inflatable tube in the space between the plate flangeand the drag block flanges, a plate attached to each side of said tubeadapted to contact the adjacent sides of said flanges when inflated toprevent movement of said drag;

blocks with respect to said plate, drive means operably connected tosaid drag blocks for moving the drag blocks toward and away from oneanother to a plurality of positions according to the width of the stripbeing guided, and a connection between said edge guides and last namedmeans associated with that guide assembly Which includes the edge guidesto move the edge guides toward and away from one another to a pluralityof positions according to the width of the strip being guided.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS KleinJuly 4, Ashworth Dec. 19, Jaseph Nov. 22, Jones et al. July 29,McCaflrey June 16, Craig Sept. 6,

3. IN A CONTINOUS STRIP PROCESSING LINE HAVING MEANS FOR MOVING THESTRIP LONGITUDINALLY, AN EDGE GUIDE AND HOLD DOWN ON THE ENTRY SIDE OFSAID MEANS FOR GUIDING THE STRIP TRANSVERSELY AND APPLYING A DRAG TO THESTRIP; SAID EDGE GUIDE AND HOLD DOWN COMPRISING A BOTTOM GUIDE ASSEMBLY,A TOP GUIDE ASSEMBLY BETWEEN WHICH THE STRIP PASSES, AND AN EDGE GUIDEON EACH SIDE OF ONE OF SAID GUIDE ASSEMBLIES, EACH OF SAID GUIDEASSEMBLIES INCLUDING A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL PLATE, A FLANGE ON SAIDPLATE ADJACENT ONE END THEREOF EXTENDING TOWARD THE STRIP PASS LINE,MORE THAN TWO DRAG BLOCKS ADJUSTABLY MOUNTED ON SAID PLATE FOR SLIDABLEMOVEMENT WITH RESPECT TO ONE ANOTHER TRANSVERSELY OF THE PATH OFMOVEMENT OF SAID STRIP, A FLANGE ON EACH OF SAID DRAG BLOCKS EXTENDINGAWAY FROM SAID STRIP PASS LINE IN SPACED RELATION WITH THE FLANGE ONSAID PLATE, AN INFLATABLE TUBE IN THE SPACE BETWEEN THE PLATE FLANGE ANDTHE DRAG BLOCK FLANGES, A PLATE ATTACHED TO EACH SIDE OF SAID TUBEADAPTED TO CONTACT THE ADJACENT SIDES OF SAID FLANGES WHEN INFLATED TOPREVENT MOVEMENT OF SAID DRAG BLOCKS WITH RESPECT TO SAID PLATE, DRIVEMEANS OPERABLY CONNECTED TO SAID DRAG BLOCKS FOR MOVING THE DRAG BLOCKSTOWARD AND AWAY FROM ONE ANOTHER TO A PLURALITY OF POSITIONS ACCORDINGTO THE WIDTH OF THE STRIP BEING GUIDED, AND